© Getty Images
Japan is struggling with a lot of vacancy. Never before have so many homes been abandoned, especially in rural areas. Currently, around nine million houses are empty, approximately 14 percent of the number of homes in the country.
Nowadays, large cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto have more and more so-called akiya bans, empty houses. It is becoming an increasing problem for the Japanese government, which is struggling with an aging population and a decline in the number of children being born. “This is a symptom of Japan’s population decline,” Jeffrey Hall of Kanda University for International Studies in Chiba told CNN. “There are simply not enough people for all those houses.”
Some buildings are temporarily vacant because, for example, the owner works abroad. For other houses, it is not known who owns them, because that information was not properly kept by local authorities.
Like Italy, Japan has come up with all kinds of plans to prevent exodus. Many vacant homes are sold for next to nothing. Sometimes even completely free. In the places Tochigi and Nagano, akiya bans were already offered for just over 400 euros. Admittedly, the buildings are somewhat outdated and could therefore use some renovation. But they have also found a solution in Japan, because anyone who wants to renovate his or her new home can receive a subsidy for this.
Free house
In fact, other Japanese places are so desperate for new residents that they are giving away houses for nothing. In Okutama, for example, three properties went to new owners for free. One of them has transformed the house into a restaurant.